The stretch of the old Bombay Poona road at Kalwa has been in a very bad state for some months now. Even then it is a primary route to a large amount of truck traffic. What I state below is what I have heard from some people..
Last friday, two brothers (the younger was on the back seat with his arms around his brother's waist) were cycling to/from school. Some people were filling up potholes with stones and other patchwork attempts (this is a routine now). Anyway the rider somehow lost his balance- he tried to place his foot on the median/divider. (I have been on this divider before and it is too stupid for words. It seems like a miniature rock formation and vehicles have been known to get stuck there as the tyres easily go over it.) He misjudged it and both of them fell into the opposite lane between the front and rear tyres of a truck going the other way.
The trucker was "apprehended" later.I was there yesterday and there seems to be no evidence like anything like this happened. They have been reduced to just another stat.
It set off several questions in my mind..
- Whose fault is it?
- The children ? - anyone could have slipped there with the roads in that state. They must have been cycling to/from school everyday.
- The trucker - He couldn't have seen the children fall or had the time to do anything.
- The people responsible for the roads - I don't know who these guys are. But to me it seems like they are the people who should take the rap for this. That road is an absolute nightmare even for pedestrians crossing it and no one gives a shit for public safety. What are these people spending my tax money on ? The Thane toll revenue on the eastern express highway seems to be supporting some hidden country.
- A cruel twist of fate ?
Now someone has had the bright area of barricading the area against heavy vehicles and a part of the road looks repaired. But at what cost - the sacrifice of two innocent lives? I have no idea how their parents will cope with this and how the people whose apathy led to this, will sleep anymore (Am I one of them?).
- Are we really safe ? What can I do ? I cannot be with my dear ones 24X7 looking out for some stupid maniac on a bike or a car. I clutch even tighter to my nephew's hand now when we are walking in the open.
It is said that the younger one still had his arms around his brother's waist, when someone stepped in to take their bodies off the road.
1 comment:
I'll give you some more cliches. If you are not fighting the system, you are the system. Point here is easier said than done. How do I "make noise" stand in the middle of the road and yell ? at whom ? That would be like spitting into the wind, there's only going to be one outcome - something on my face.
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